


The Newbie's Guide to Flames, Revised Edition*

by petrichor (findingkairos)



Series: Behind the Scenes: Seiryū [1]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Gen, Meta, Metafiction, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-09 05:24:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13474584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/findingkairos/pseuds/petrichor
Summary: *information contained herein is not guaranteed to be correct nor useful.





	The Newbie's Guide to Flames, Revised Edition*

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of the supplemental material set for _Seiryū_. As such there are spoilers abound; read at your own risk (or curiosity).

It is a common misconception that Flames types are hereditary or final. In reality, in _Seiryū_ ’s universe (and thus the universe of the overall series _gentle beating of mighty wings_ ), Flames are a weird mix of physical (or more exactly, cellular) and non-physical energy. To be more specific, I quote from the Rules of Engagement for _Seiryū_ that I officially set out for myself about halfway through the fic, or around _Ch. 7: 02. in motion and in stillness_ :

> Flames are a manifestation of will when one stares into the void for too long and returns irrevocably changed; they may change types as people mature, or after significant trauma that results in character development.

This, in other words, means that Flames can be a good look at someone’s motivations. However, one of the limitations to them is that Flames are activated or “sparked” by Dying Will, a fancy term for saying that someone has a very good reason to actively refuse death. This is surprisingly difficult to do, because a basic refusal to die (such as “I’m afraid to die” and “I haven’t done what I wanted in life yet”) won’t cut it. It must be an active refusal to die that your body responds to in an example of “mind over matter.”

That simple fact - “mind over matter” - is the reason why most people go their entire lives without sparking Flames, even in the face of traumatizing or deadly conditions. It’s very difficult to actively take control over your body’s functions and reactions in the face of the natural flight-or-fight instinct, and those that train themselves to do so tend to be in the armed services or in illegal activities that see a lot of violence and conflict, such as the mafia. 

Thus, the type of Flames that someone sparks can generally be linked to their motivations for refusing to die, which is termed as achieving Dying Will. There’s also a general trend where Flame types tend to correspond to what they value in life above everything else. Clouds, for example, will often hold their individual independence to be greatest above all, while Rains tend to value maintaining what they view as the status quo, Lightnings tend to commit acts of self-sacrifice - whether in blood, opportunities, or resources - to support others (or sometimes themselves and their values, like with Verde), and so on and so forth. As a result, the purity and strength of Flames are tied directly to one’s Dying Will.

In addition to parents/close family/one’s environment influencing the value that one grows up with (lending to the idea that Flame types are hereditary), people are resistant to change, often having a core value that they will not be shaken from unless and until they face a catastrophic event of epic proportions that affect them greatly either physically or mentally. Such events will result in a complete shift in the person’s view that has a corresponding shift in Flames. Hence, events such as Lal Mirch’s Flames moving from a pure Rain to a combination of Mist and Cloud can occur. 

In _Seiryū_ ’s universe:

> Suns tend to value initiative;
> 
> Clouds tend to value autonomy;
> 
> Rains tend to value halcyon days;
> 
> Mists tend to value concealing their true selves;
> 
> Lightnings tend to value self-sacrifice;
> 
> Storms tend to value pragmatism;
> 
> Skies tend to value ideals and/or people.

* * *

But how does this translate into what the rainbow Cosa Nostra terms as “Guardian Bonds”? The truth is, what Reborn - and the Cosa Nostra that utilize them - tends to do is to romanticize the regular bonds that form between people who have actively reached a point in their life where they must utilize a Dying Will. This is for multiple reasons: partially due to propaganda (it’s easier to control subordinates if they are led to believe that their superiors are a cohesive unit), partially due to tradition, and partially due to the way that people in high-risk high-payout situations will act with their sworn allies. If you’re ride-or-die with somebody, you’re more likely to be in sync with them, after all; and a Sky’s attribute of Harmonization, which details a process that boils down to someone’s charisma and ideal being strong enough to convince others into agreeing with the Sky, certainly helps.

The interesting thing is, only Cosa Nostra bosses or people who tend to throw themselves into dire loyalty-or-death situations have Guardian Bonds; the rest of those that have accessed their Flames tend to gravitate around one Sky partially due to folk tales and belief, and partially due to the sheer rarity of them. It’s difficult to find somebody that will look directly at the worst parts of a person - their sins, their flaws, their mistakes - and still say that they would care for them, after all.

I mentioned before that Flames are a weird mix of physical and non-physical energy; “physical” here is something akin to cellular energy such as ATP (a type of chemical that powers the cell), which the human body uses to keep on living. It makes up about fifty-percent of a regular Flame. In contrast, “non-physical” energy refers to the person’s own willpower in refusing to die, or in some cases, will to live no matter the consequences or effort involved (which is admittedly often harder to do). This willpower drives the rest of the Flame and allows the person to utilize the Flame in the first place.

The difference between something like chakra from _Naruto_ and the Flames of _Seiryū_ is that A) powerful Flames are always exerting an influence on the world and those around them, which sometimes translates to the “aura,” “bearing,” or “air” that someone has; and B) the non-physical portion is essentially a positive feedback loop. The person is motivated to, say, defy death and/or continue living for the sake of self-improvement with a Dying Will, powering their Flames, which resonates with the rest of their personality/their self and drives them to put “mind over matter,” return to start of sentence.

* * *

The ratio of physical vs. non-physical energy involved can also change how the Flame functions. Of course, the average person that can access Flames doesn’t know or much care about such a breakdown, so the higher physical energy concentration is often simply termed as a “Hard” Flame and the higher non-physical energy concentration is often termed as a “Soft” Flame.

And as Reborn points out in Chapters 11 and 12 of _Seiryū_ , particularly potent Flames can cause symptoms in others similar to being drunk. It’s less of a purely physical effect, though, and more of a combination of the target’s and the instigator’s Flames in such a way they resonate with each other. Of course, this does not need to be done consciously, and as a matter of fact this effect is what the rainbow Cosa Nostra commonly calls “Sky Attraction” and “Sky loyalty.”

So how do you “muffle” Flames? Well, once someone achieves Dying Will, they’ve started to actively utilize the energy that is inherent to everyone. To muffle or to hide Flames is to essentially hide the fact that you would utilize Dying Will from others and, to an extent, even from yourself. Someone who muffles their own Flames must willingly dampen their will to live no matter the cost, and doing so has physical repercussions (believed to be due to the physical energy of the Flame being affected) such as mental and physical fatigue. Of course, someone who loses the Dying Will will snuff out their Flames entirely, and it is difficult at that point to spark them again.

Thus, “sensing” someone’s Flames is a lot like sensing someone’s intent through their body language: it’s in the way they walk, talk, and interact with others. It’s possible to hone such an ability through training, and of course once you’ve Harmonized with a Sky then you’ve essentially attuned yourself and your non-physical energy with them, which comes with a lot of consequences.

This is where the supernatural nature of the Flames comes in, especially with the Pacifiers and the Vongola/Mare Rings; people say that willpower affects the world, after all, and if the Tri-Ni-Sette holds the fabric of the universe together then there must be something to the saying. When the Arcobaleno power the Pacifiers, they are sacrificing their Dying Will; former Arcobaleno that become Vindice must then rely on Bermuda to keep their body functioning and to essentially power their nervous system, as their own selves have at that point given up. This diminishment of Dying Will is a primary factor in an Arcobaleno generation’s devolvement towards depression and other mental illnesses as their bodies start to break down years ahead of schedule.

* * *

Unfortunately, the nature of Flames makes it possible for Skies to “force” someone into a bonding Harmonization they do not want. This is done through, in layman’s terms, overpowering someone’s Dying Will with your own until you have essentially flattened their will to live individually and instead tied it directly to your own. In more specific terms, the “mind over matter” anchor has shifted from the individual’s own wants and needs powering their Dying Will to the forcing Sky’s. It’s a lot like brainwashing, and is very much of an assault on the mind.

And _technically_ , it's not illegal. It's repulsive, definitely, and anyone who has been a victim to it is likely to be traumatized for good reason, but the rainbow Cosa Nostra as a whole think that being in Harmony is the best thing ever and to even have the scarcest possibility of one is a once-in-a-lifetime chance, etc etc. Honestly a lot of the hype around Harmonization is mostly propaganda; there's no telepathy or other mental link involved other than the type of being very knowledgeable about a person that would also come from knowing them for decades. 

...yeah, I hate it too. 


End file.
